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conjunctions - Can I use "lest" in the following sentence?


I am not a native English speaker/writer, but I am working on a technical thesis written in English. To me, for some unknown reason, it feels natural to write the following:



However, the simplicity of the theory implies that it is not possible in reality, lest someone would surely have already done it.



Googling for the definition of lest seems to imply that this is not a correct usage.


So, can I use lest like I do, and if not, do any of you also feel there is any merit to my spontaneous feeling that it actually is ok to use it here? The first answer of this post (Is this usage of "lest" possible?) seems to support my case, but i am not sure.



Answer



Two things.




  1. Lest is always followed by the subjunctive mood. ODO's example is



    he spent whole days in his room, wearing headphones lest he disturb anyone



    Your example doesn't do this, nor can it.




  2. Lest is a conjunction and means "to avoid the risk of" (ODO), and generally that phrase can be slotted in, adjusting the verb from the subjunctive mood:



    he spent whole days in his room, wearing headphones to avoid the risk of disturbing anyone



    Your example doesn't seem to be able to have this phrase inserted.




I think that what your sentence is intended to mean is



However, the simplicity of the theory implies that it is not possible in reality, or else someone would surely have already done it.



Another way of putting that would be to use otherwise. You are stating how that theory is proved (that is, it's supportive corroboration); you're not stating how a risk might be avoided (a negative result).


The confusion might be because ODO's example could also use otherwise:



he spent whole days in his room wearing headphones, otherwise he might have disturbed someone



However, this doesn't mean that otherwise and lest are generally interchangeable. To determine which to use, substitute either to avoid the risk of or or else.


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